What is the best way to go about cleaning out the keyboard and mouse on a computer, as the one we have at work, is in quite a dusty atmosphere and the keyboard is full of dust, cigarette ash and crumbs from sandwiches, it's also a bit sticky, from where a guy dropped a cream-filled doughnut on it. If you regularly clean out your computer peripherals, how do you do it?.Would it also be a good idea to clean out the inside of the power supply, next to the fan?.Any help someone could give on this would be most gratefully recieved!.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 06-20-2003).]

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Let's face it, these days if you're not young, you're old - Red Green

If you feel like being nice to your IT people then cleaning out the inside of a computer is appreciated, even if you just blow out the dust from the power supply fan. If the power supply fan or the CPU fan goes they will bake themselves. As for the keyboard, throw it out and start with a new one, or look into the sealed keyboard, they make the whole thing out of a silicone membrane, they are flexable and waterproof, so if it gets dirty you can throw it in the sink and use regular soap and water. http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?ProductID=356037

It's amazing how much dust and debris can accumulate around the vents. Remember to not just clean the fan but also all the vent slots. In a desktop PC, there are usually slots on the lower front edge, normally hidden from view by the case, which are relied upon to draw cool air in over the motherboard. You want to make sure you get those clean for best airflow.

You can buy cans of compressed air which is handy for blowing out dust from awkward corners, especially considering that brushes with man-made fibers are not the best tools around static-sensitive components.

I've rescued a couple of keyboards from the trash heap by running them through the dishwasher. Put the dishwasher on light cycle do not use any soap and set it not to dry... then let it air dry for a few days.

(I had to witness the results before I believed it myself.)

Iâ€™ve only used it as a last option but it really cleans the coffee out of a keyboard!